Avoiding Unclean Food

Quickly, Revelation 21 and verse 21, as it describes a little bit about this new Jerusalem that will come down from heaven. Genesis 21, and we will pick it up in verse 21.

And when all is said and done and testaments are completed, covenants are completed, it makes a very important statement here. It says, The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each individual gate was of one pearl.

And the street of the city was pure gold like transparent glass.

But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

The city had no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God illuminated it.

The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and their honor into it. Verse 25, its gates shall not be shut at all by day, there shall be no night there.

Verse 26, And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, and only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

I'm going to read this from the new Revised Standard Version, because the King James kind of softens the original intent of the word by using the word defiles. The actual word of better translation is unclean. Here's what it says in most translations, frankly. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. So here it talks about uncleanness. Uncleanness is any physical or spiritual quality that is contrary to God's law or God's will.

Uncleanness can take many forms. It can be a thought. It can be an action, something we do, like a sin. It can even be indifference. Knowing that we should say something, do something, intervene, care for someone, and withhold that can also be an act of uncleanness.

Today, I would like to discuss just one type of uncleanness we all need to avoid. There are many types of uncleanness, and frankly, most of the messages we have here are addressed about Christian living and avoiding certain types of sins or other activities or uncleanness in our lives. It's a lot of what we hear about in the Church of God to teach us, to guide us, to give us direction, to teach us the things to avoid. So again, today I would like to discuss just one type of uncleanness that we all need to avoid. Let's find out what led to this in Genesis 6-10.

It's a first mention of a type of cleanness and uncleanness. There, back in Genesis 6, beginning in verse 10, it's introduced by a tragic episode that occurred to the planet Earth.

Again, we're here in Genesis 6-10. It says, And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Haman Japheth, and the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. This is only about 1600 years after Adam and Eve had been created. How quickly the earth degenerated into a world filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt. And all flesh had corrupted their way in the earth. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold I will destroy them with the earth. So here's what he says to Noah, Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and outside with pitch. We'll stop there, but he gives pretty intricate details on how we should make this large ship in order to save the animals that are on the earth, in order to save his family from a soon-coming flood. It broke God's heart to see how quickly humankind had degenerated in only about 1600 years since the creation of Adam and Eve. The creator decided to wipe out and to wipe the earth clean and start all over again with Noah and his family. Of course, why this may sound cruel to some people, well first of all he is the creator. They will live again. Everyone who died in this flood will live again. And let me assure you that they will be resurrected in a much better world with a much greater opportunity of happiness and fulfillment than living in a world that was filled with violence and rape and torture and all the things that are associated with violence that we see unfortunately in our own world today. So it broke God's heart to need to do this to start all over again, but he did. In essence, God decided to do it. He was going to wipe away the uncleanness with a flood. And we won't look at the scriptures directly, but it says it was a combination of great bodies and wells of water under the earth. The earth broke up and water came up from the earth and it also rained and the combination of those two created an enormous flood that wiped out life on the earth. Why water? God doesn't do things by accident. God is rich with representation and metaphors, isn't he? Well, this is a metaphor for the personal need of baptism to wash away our sins. The world was cleansed by a flood and water cleansed the evil from the world and it started all over again. In the act of baptism, we were plunged into a flood of water. We were immersed in water and we came out of that water a new creature in Christ, sins forgiven, cleansed metaphorically because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. So that's why God used water. Again, it's a metaphor for the personal need of baptism to wash away our sins. And of course, in verses 14 and 16, God gives Noah the specifications on how to build the ark. We'll take a look quickly at verse 22. Thus Noah did, according to all that God commanded him, so he did. This was one of the positive traits of Noah and the reason he was saved in contrast to so many other people because he was obedient to God. Noah wasn't like a lot of people that I know. Noah was not a smorgasbord Christian. What's a smorgasbord Christian? Well, actually it's a term I heard a Catholic priest use once. A smorgasbord Christian is somebody who looks at the doctrines of their church and says, this one looks tasty. I'll take this one off the table. And oh, this one over here, this one's fun. I'll take, I choose this one off the table.

And oh no, no, no, I don't like broccoli. And they basically pick and choose what they want to believe, what they want to follow, and then everything else they leave on the table. We don't find this about Noah. It wasn't going to be pleasureful to work for a long, long time to build an ark in the middle of nowhere and have all your neighbors walk by and say, loser! What are you building the ark for, moron? There isn't water anywhere! Yet, he just continued obeying God and doing what he was supposed to do. Mocked, chided, seemingly stupid to the people of the earth.

Yet, as it says here, he did according to all that God commanded him to do a very positive trait. Now let's drop down over to chapter 7 in verse 1. And a very powerful statement is made here that introduces my topic of cleanness and uncleanness today. It says, And then the Lord said to Noah, Come into the ark, you and your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.

You shall take with you seven of every clean animal, a male and a female, two of each animal that are unclean, a male and his female, also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of the earth.

Now the Hebrew word for clean is tahor. It's a t-a-h-o-w-r. It means something that's pure. It means something that's ceremonially clean. And the interesting thing is that although detailed instructions were given specifically on how to build the ark, God does not define to Noah the difference between clean and unclean animals. This strongly implies that Noah already knew and practiced the distinction between clean and unclean animals.

So long before there's a Moses, long before there's a nation of Israel, long before there's an old covenant and the book of Leviticus that says these animals are clean and these animals are unclean, before there's a Jew, before there's an Israelite, the distinction already exists. To this man Noah, thought by God, and I again I'm going to speculate here that Noah understood this because the Bible says he was righteous in his generations, which means in his lineage he came from godly people who had continued to maintain their belief in God, that he had been taught the difference between the distinction between clean animals and unclean animals.

So God presents this to Noah as if he's already well aware of the difference between clean and unclean animals. He doesn't specifically tell Noah which are which. Now let's drop down here to chapter 9 verse 1. Go to Genesis chapter 9 and verse 1 and read a scripture here that many people try to distort, and this is going to be a sermon today in which we're going to have to look deeply in the context of many things so we don't allow ourselves to be deceived.

Genesis chapter 9 and verse 1. So God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply. This is obviously after they came safely through the flood and left the ark. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, and in all that move on the earth, and in all the fish of the sea. You are going to have absolute dominion over these animals. They are given into your hand.

And verse 3 is one that some people try to distort. Verse 3, every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things even as the green herbs. So what does God mean? Does he say, because God's saying that now you can eat anything, any animal that you want after all the effort to make a distinction before they went on the ark. Is God now saying that you can eat any animal on the earth? Well, God isn't saying that at all. Earlier in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 30, God stated that he gave them herbs for human consumption. And now he tells Noah and his family that they can eat meat.

But is he telling them they can eat any meat? Oftentimes people who want a proof text who are looking to support their agenda as if God is schizophrenic. God says, clean animals, unclean animals, it's okay. Clean animals, unclean animals, it's okay. Clean animals, unclean animals, it's okay. God is not schizophrenic. God says, I change not. God's laws and his standards remain the same. So is he telling them they can eat any meat?

Well, absolutely not. Like herbs, some are not meant for human consumption. He says here that I've given these things as food for you. I've given you all these things even as the green herbs. Do you know there are thousands of herbs that if you choose to eat them, they will make you sick. Some of them, if you eat some herbs, you will die. So obviously in context, you can eat and should eat the herbs that are healthy and good for you to eat.

In the same way, it is true of any animal flesh or any animal meat. Noah already has been taught the discernment between clean and unclean animals before they walked on the ark. That was part of how the animals came to be on the ark. Later, God would again draw a distinction between clean and unclean animals to Moses because they would lose the knowledge when they were slaves in Egypt. They would lose that distinction and understanding between clean and unclean animals. God would have to give that detail once again that we discover in Leviticus chapter 11. God is telling Noah that humanity now has dominion over these animals. He says some are suitable for food, others for clothing materials. Some animals are just good garbage disposal. Others have brute strength and are good for working. They'll help you to plow up a field. So he says, I'm giving you dominion. They are yours to use. They are yours to work. They're yours to cover your body. And there are some that will also make good food. You know, before the time of Moses, you will find in the Old Testament without exception. And this is a challenge in the Old Testament without exception. Every animal that is consumed, every animal that is sacrificed happens to be a clean animal. And this includes the time from Shem and Ham and Japheth and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob all the way through until they get to Egypt. You will find consistently in every place without exception every animal consumed or sacrificed are clean animals. Just very quickly, there's no reason to turn to Genesis 15.6. But when God said he was going to bless Abraham because he accounted him towards his righteousness, he told Abraham, quote Genesis chapter 15 and verse 9, he said to him, this is he said to Abraham, bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon, all of which happen to be clean animals.

In Genesis chapter 22 and verse 13, I'm sure you remember the story of when God tested Abraham to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his own son. To picture what God the Father himself would have to do many thousands of years later with his son Jesus Christ. Now he stopped Abraham because it was just a test to see if he would be willing to go ahead with it. And when he did, it says, and Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and behind him was a ram, a clean animal caught in the thicket by its horns. That's in Genesis chapter 22 and verse 13. And in Exodus chapter 12 and verse 3, before there's any old covenant, before Israel leaves Egypt to prepare for the Passover that year, God told Moses in Exodus chapter 12 and verse 3, speak to the congregation of Israel, saying, on the tenth day of this month, every man shall take for himself a lamb. Why did God say a lamb and not a vulture? Why did he say a lamb and not a lobster? Because it's a clean animal.

So we see here that the observance and distinction between clean and unclean animals existed long before the old covenant was established. It is separate. The distinction is separate from what was reinforced and taught to Israel in the old covenant. By the time the Israelites left Egypt, after many generations, they most likely lost the knowledge and were confused about the distinction between clean and unclean animals. Egypt both worshipped and Egyptians ate unclean animals.

So after a number of generations, it shouldn't surprise us that Israel became confused about which was which. And it was so important to God that he decided to re-establish this knowledge to ancient Israel. So at this point, let's go back and read a few verses from Leviticus chapter 11, beginning in verse 1, and see here where God re-introduces the understanding the knowledge of clean and unclean animals to ancient Israel. Leviticus chapter 11 verse 1.

It says, Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth, among the animals whatsoever divides the hoof, having clove and hooves, and chewing the cud that you may eat. Now rather than going into all of the details here, I will leave that to our fine booklet entitled, What Does the Bible Teach About Clean and Unclean Meats? The point that I want to bring out here in Leviticus 11 is that God instructs Moses on the distinction between clean and unclean animals. God doesn't see a need to explain to them the biology of why some should not be eaten. I know I've read many fine articles, and many people are into the biology, and it is true that most of the animals that are unclean are what we would call bottom feeders in the ecosystem. Many of them are garbage disposers, and they eat weak animals, or they eat diseased and eat dead animals, dead flesh. They eat things that I can't even mention that would probably make you sick to your stomach. That is their part in the ecosystem, and obviously, God doesn't want us to eat something that is eaten something that in itself is rather putrefying. But here's the point that I want to bring across that God provides a simple instruction. It's important to Him, and therefore it should be important to us. One of the things that I think is so hard for us, especially in our American culture today, to accept the fact, is sometimes we do things because God says to do it. We don't need to know why. About 20, 30 years ago, there was a fad, and a lot of young moms would have a t-shirt on it, and the t-shirt said, because I'm the mommy.

And what the t-shirt meant is they would be challenged by the child. How am I going to go to bed at seven o'clock, mommy? Because I'm the mommy. I don't owe you an explanation. I don't need to explain to you for 40 minutes why you need to go to bed at seven o'clock. You go to bed at seven o'clock because I am the mommy. And it's the same way with what God teaches us in His law. God should not have to feel a need to give us the who, what, when, where, why, every time He gives humankind a teaching, an instruction, a law. God says it. It's important to Him. Therefore, it should be important to us. Unclean animals are a representation that God divides the world, that within the world, physical and spiritual world, there are two distinct classes. There is the clean and the holy, and then there's another distinct class. It is the unclean and the unholy. Obviously, God loves the one and the other is contrary to God's values and God's way of life. That was true in 1500 BC, and it's still true in the year 2015. There are clean and unclean people. There are clean and unclean attitudes. There are clean and unclean laws, and we need to respect the clean and do what God tells us we need to do. Let's take a look at Deuteronomy chapter 14, another area that this is mentioned that ties in well with what I was just mentioning. Deuteronomy chapter 14 in verse 1.

And this is what God wanted ancient Israel to be like, to be an example, to come out of the world, because other people were watching them. And here's what he told them.

You are the children of the Lord your God, you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead. You shall not cut yourself, nor shave the front of your head for the dead. You shall not cut yourself, nor shave the front of your head for the dead.

These were things, excuse me, these were a couple of things that the pagans did. Obviously, that's not part of our religious custom today. Personally, I don't need to worry about shaving the front of my head. The hair is falling out all on its own. Thank you. I don't need to worry about that. He says here in verse 2, for you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the people who are on the face of the earth. You shall not eat any detestable thing. It made them stand up just like the Sabbath. Observing the Sabbath made them stand out. It set them apart from other peoples. What you eat, what you allow to enter your mouth, sets you apart from other peoples. And I can say this, readily admitting, I didn't grow up into the church. I can't imagine how much pork chops, spam, and city chicken I eat growing up. I probably should have grown a snout. I ate so much pork growing up as a child because pork was cheaper. And that's why we ate a lot of pork. You could buy pork cheaper than you could chicken or beef when I was growing up as a kid. And, of course, put spam in a can and it would keep for 35 years on the shelf. You didn't have to worry about it. You can imagine how good it was for your body. But God says you shall not eat any detestable thing. And these are the animals which you may eat. The ox, the sheep, and the goat. The word detestable here is the Hebrew word toebah, and it means something disgusting and abhorrence, or something that the God is an abomination. Well, something is an abomination to God. Do you think it would change overnight? If something is disgusting to God, do you think it would suddenly become pleasurable overnight? God states that cud-chewing animals with split hooves can be eaten. He mentioned that in Leviticus chapter 11, and these specifically include cattle and sheep and goat and deer and all that are members of the gazelle families. And he tells us that salt and freshwater fish that have both fins and scales can be eaten. And he delineates certain types of birds and even insects that are considered clean, in case you're in the chocolate-covered locust, or whatever may excite you as a delicacy or a dessert. And again, I'm not going to go into the details of clean and unclean foods. We have a chart. We have excellent information again in our booklet, What Does God Teach About Clean and Unclean Meets? Excuse me.

So again, holiness is important to God. Not eating detestable things showed the other nations that God's people were different, that they're set apart. How about us? Are we afraid to be different or set apart? Are we ashamed to be different or set apart? Which is really kind of silly when you think in our world today, in our world today, anything goes. If you're out with someone and they ask you, well, why aren't you eating pork? Well, that's kind of... I mean, people today, they're vegans. They're putting bolts through their lips. People are putting tattoos on their... inside their cheeks. I mean, people are virtually doing anything. Anything goes. So there's no reason to feel odd because you don't eat pork or you don't eat shellfish. You have as much of a right as people with their freakish personal fads and taste have in this world. So there's no reason to be ashamed of the things that we do. We have a good reason. We have the scriptures. We have the instruction of Almighty God as a reason why we don't eat unclean animals.

Now, biologically, as I will say, it is a common trait of many of these animals that God designates as unclean, that they are garbage collectors in our ecosystem. And that's very true. They routinely eat things that would sicken or kill human beings if we ate them ourselves. And when we eat such animals that are part of the food chain that have eaten these things, they can be very harmful to people. I was reading on the internet last night an article on why you should not eat baby kittens. I don't know how many of you have been tempted to eat baby kittens, but the article said that baby kittens have a parasite. And it's very deadly because if you eat a baby kitten, their parasite actually invades the human brain. And it's like invasion of the body snatchers. It literally rewires your brain and you start going bonkers, all from a parasite from eating baby kittens. So eliminate baby kittens from your Thanksgiving meal this year by all means. All kidding aside, God has a reason why He designates some animals as unclean and some animals as clean.

Well, with that said, let's now go to the New Testament and look at some scriptures people commonly use to say that unclean animals can now be eaten. Obviously, the Old Testament is clear, so if someone wants to eat lobster or clams or pork or other types of unclean things, they need to find justification in the New Testament. And they need to find valid, you know, the valid, they could valid in their heads that somehow Jesus or somebody else changed the food laws.

Now, of course, we know that Jesus was a very righteous Jew, and if He would have broken any of these laws, He could not have been the Messiah. If He would have broken, if He would have just committed one sin, done one detestable, unclean thing, He could not have been our Savior. He would have been flawed. He would have had sin upon Him. So we know He didn't, so they have to grasp at some words that He said, or we'll also see the Apostle Paul, in order to justify, to take out of context something, to proof text something, in order to say that's what Jesus was intending to teach now, that it's okay to eat unclean animals. Let's go to Mark 7, classic scripture. You'll find this in just about any theological work that attempts to discuss clean and unclean meats. And the typical Protestant or Catholic scholar will say, by the time we get to the end of this story, that Jesus is saying that it's okay to eat anything that you want. But we want to understand the Word of God, and we want to see what God says. So let's begin here in verse 1 and see the context. How many times have I mentioned how important it is to get to the context of something and not just pull out your favorite three or four words to support something you want to believe? Okay, then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together with Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now, when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.

So let's stop. One second. Let's consider the context. It is not clean or unclean meat. It is about whether you have dirt particles on your hands. The disciples are not eating meat. The disciples are eating bread. This is not about God's instruction in Leviticus 11. It is about the tradition of washing your hands. The ritual tradition of washing your hands. And if I can step aside from the podium for a second and put on my psychiatrist's cap, it is obvious that the Pharisees had an issue with obsessive compulsive disorder. And it doesn't surprise me. If you lived in a culture where you're always bad, you're always evil, you're never good enough, uncleanness is everywhere. The way that you're going to act that out is you're continually going to wash your hands, you're going to wash your plates, you're going to wash, wash, wash, wash, wash everything in a way to try to relieve yourself of the guilt and shame you feel on the inside. All right, I'm going to come back to the podium, put my minister's cap on, and go back to the scriptures here. Let's pick it up in verse 5. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, this is speaking of Christ, why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition, nothing to do with Leviticus 11, the tradition of the elders, but eat bread, not meat, bread with unwashed hands. He answered and said to them, well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites? As it is written, the people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. He said to them, all too well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition. So I'm going to stop here at the point of sounding obnoxious. Is the context God's law, or is the context tradition? Is it clean or unclean meats, or is it the disciples eating bread with unwashed hands? All right, now let's continue. Verse 10. For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and he who curses his father or mother, let him be put to death. But you say, if a man says to his father or mother, whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban, and that was a temple financial vow. Now the law was very explicit that when your parents get elderly or they're not doing well, that you as a child are responsible for taking care of your parents. After all, they took care of you when you were young, they cared for you when you couldn't take care of yourself. It's only fair and right and godly that when they get up there and they get elderly that you take care of them. But the Jews had found a way to circumvent God's law. They said, well, if you make a financial vow to the temple, then you can, instead of taking care of your parents, and there's not a lot of glory in that, you can give this financial windfall to the temple. And of course, everybody will talk about what a big man you are, and how generous you are, and you get lots of praise and accolades from the community because you gave this money to the temple. Continuing, whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban. Sorry, Mom and Dad can't help you! That is a gift to God. Verse 12, then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition, which you have handed down and many other things you do.

When he had called the multitude to himself, he said to them, hear me, everyone, understand, verse 15, there is nothing that enters a man from the outside which can defile him. Now, this phrase defile him is not talking about spiritual defilement. It's talking about eating a little bit of dirt on a piece of bread that may have inadvertently got into the bread and got in your mouth and maybe you've swallowed. But the things, there's nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him, but the things that come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. I want you again to remember what Mr. Mango mentioned today in Matthew 5 and verse 18. Remember what he had said earlier in Matthew 5, for shortly I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot nor one tittle will by no means pass from the law, till all is fulfilled. Whoever, therefore, breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. So, do you think Jesus Christ is going to teach them that it is now acceptable to eat pork chops and shellfish and have a clam bake this evening? Well, that's not the context at all, as we have already seen. Let's pick it up now here in verse 17. Then, when he had entered the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he said to them, Are you thus, without understanding also, do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from the outside cannot defile him? Again, the context is a little bit of dirt, a little bit of grime on your fingers, on your hands, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods. So, at the risk of sounding crude, Jesus Christ is saying that if there's a little bit of dirt on your hands, if you go to the restaurant and you say, Excuse me, what is that fly doing in my soup? And the waiter says, I believe it's the backstroke. And you accidentally eat that fly, that the reality is that it's going to go through your digestive system and later on, a few hours later, you are going to go to a private room and you are going to purge that dirt that was on the bread, or something that you accidentally ate that you didn't intend to eat. Now, one of the issues with this verse is what a lot of translations have distorted and have done to it. I'm going to read verse 19, for example, from the New International Version, and if you have this, this will look familiar. Here's the New International Version, and the New American Standard Bible says something very similar. For it doesn't go into his heart, but into his stomach, and then out of his body, and then you'll notice a bracket. In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean. End of bracket.

In the original Greek, there are no brackets. In the original ancient Greek manuscripts, that phrase, in saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean, is not in the original manuscripts.

It was added by translators who wanted to help you to understand that Jesus is eliminating the distinction between clean and unclean meats. That's added into the manuscripts, not part of the originals. Now let's take a look here at verse 20, and again, in context, see what the real principle here Jesus is trying to teach. And he said, what comes out of a man? That defiles a man, for from within, out of the heart of man, precedes evil thoughts, like judging his disciples, I might add, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within and defile a man.

So, contrary to the tradition of the Pharisees, Christ teaches his disciples that dirt on their hands, or maybe a little bit of a dirty plate, or utensil spoons a little dirty, or anything else, could not make them defile, because it'll go in the tummy, and the tummy will eliminate it, and it's going to be purged. Christ, in context, is not talking about clean and unclean meats. That's not in this conversation at all. Now, let's go to Acts chapter 10, another scripture that many people use in an attempt to justify why it's okay to eat unclean foods. This is, of course, the story between Peter and Cornelius, who is a Gentile.

Acts chapter 10 and verse 1.

Now, a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian regiment, so he was an army officer, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. So, he was what is commonly known today as a God-fearer. He was a Gentile who was religious, who prayed to God, who kept as much of the Jewish law as he could. They remained uncircumcised, so the Jews always kind of pushed them to the sidelines and never fully accepted them, but they were religious, God-fearing individuals. Verse 3, about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius! And when he observed him, he was afraid, and he said, what is it, Lord? So, he said to him, your prayers and your alms have come up as a memorial before God. This word memorial means what you've done has been remembered before God. So, don't ever forget that when you praise for someone, when that email comes in, and so-and-so is asking for prayers, and you just take out five, ten seconds and stop what you're doing and say, dear God, please intervene on Mr.

and Mrs. so-and-so's behalf. Please ease the pain. Please heal them. You are praying to God. You are being remembered before God. You are sending up a memorial of your faithfulness to God. Every time you write a tithe check, every time you see someone in need, you bring them a bag of groceries, or maybe you give them a check to help them out, you're doing exactly the kind of thing Cornelius did. And it says that your alms have come up as a memorial they are remembered before God.

Now send men to Joppa and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with another man named Simon, who's a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do. And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually. So when he had explained all the things to them, explained what God had said and what the purpose of the visit was, he sent them to Joppa, obviously to go get Peter to fetch Peter. The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up to the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. Now God wants to prepare Peter for meeting something that according to his bigoted cultural environment, he shouldn't do. According, because of the influence of the Pharisees, it was cultural bigotry that a Jew would have nothing to do with the Gentile. That's not in God's law. That's not in God's original law at all. But just like bigotry of any kind, of any culture, in any time in human history, people aren't born bigots, people aren't born racist. They are taught to be bigots. They are taught to be racist. And within the Jewish community, due to the powerful influence of the Pharisees, Jews were taught to despise Gentiles, to not break bread with them, not have a meal, not even engage in a conversation, just totally avoid them because they were considered disgusting. So God knows that Peter is about to, in a very short period of time, meet a Gentile. And this is going to be a breakthrough for the Church of God. So he has to prepare him for this event. So let's read about it. Peter went up to the housetop to pray about the sixth hour.

Then he became very hungry and he wanted to eat. But while they made ready, he fell into a trance.

He saw heaven opened in an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending on him and letting down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And the voice came to him, Peter, rise Peter, eat, kill, and eat. But Peter said, not so Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean. He doesn't do it. As a matter of fact, it happens a second time. He doesn't do it, even in the trance, in the dream. He doesn't attempt to eat the animal. It happens a third time. He won't do it. He stops and once again it comes down and he refuses to do it. And the voice spoke again the second time, what God has cleansed you must not call common.

And this was done three times and the object was taken up into heaven again. Now, while Peter wondered within himself, he says there is a message here. The message is not to eat unclean animals. He's smart enough to know that. He says, but God is trying to tell me something. What could it be? What is the message in this? What is the vision for which he had meant? Behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and they stood before the gate. So right after these three, the vision happens three times. Hello! We've come from a man named Cornelius and he wants to talk to you for a while. Let's see, Cornelius. Doesn't sound very Jewish to me. You say he's a centurion? I don't know of too many Hebrew centurions.

Hmm. So he acknowledges that he needs to go. So Peter acknowledges that the trance and vision are from God and he knows God's law and he refuses. He refuses to send his other friend Simon out for takeout at Red Lobster. He knows there's another message here, aside from some new truth about eating clean and unclean meats. He knows there's a different message with it all and let's see how it comes to him like a bolt of lightning axe. Chapter 10 and verse 25 he is introduced to Cornelius, takes the journey, finally comes to Cornelius. It says, and Peter was coming in. Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up saying, Stand up. I myself am also a man. Don't worship me. Don't give me any special honors. I'm a human being just like you are. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together.

Then he said to them, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I can now have pork chops.

No, he doesn't say that. God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Again, this law that he talks about is part of Jewish tradition. It began at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. There was a need for excessive righteousness to be within the community. Those who came back from captivity, they became in essence self-righteous and overly protective because they wanted to protect what was left of Jewish culture. And eventually that became known as Phariseeism. But it was not part of God's original law. Rahab, Uriah, Ruth, Job were not Israelites. The original law that God gave had special provisions for strangers in the Jewish community that they were to be treated, they were to be welcomed, and strangers were to be treated under respectful terms. That was part of God's original law. Peter got the message of the vision. It was not that unclean animals are now clean. It was that as a Jew he should not look down upon, he should not despise a Gentile as unclean. He needed to get rid of the bigotry that was in his heart, the racism that was in his heart towards someone who was different than he was. He needed to root that out of his heart and his mind because God was about to call Gentiles into the faith. Well, brethren, in conclusion today, what we've been talking about is very important to God. This isn't a salvation issue, but if we want to be sanctified, if we want to grow, if we want to be obedient to God, we need to make sure that we are appreciating his instruction in his laws and the difference between clean and unclean foods. We have to set ourselves apart from this world. We don't want to be smorgasbord Christians picking and choosing what we like or feel comfortable with. His way of life is a package, and if you want to enjoy the full benefits of what God offers, you have to understand that his way of life is a package, and we can't tear the package apart. We can't pick this out that we like that's comfortable on this out that sounds like it's kind of fun and then leave the other undone, because if we do that, we are not going to be able to participate in the full blessings that God is offering us as his people. His way of life is a package we know of as his law. It's not a piecemeal value system where we can simply pick and choose what we want or what's convenient.

This is important to God. Therefore, for no other reason, it should be important to us. Let's appreciate and respect God's instruction on the difference between clean and unclean animals.

Have a happy Sabbath day!